


Ghost Stories

by MidnightFragments



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Ghosts, M/M, but they're ghosts so it's not very sad i promise, no endgame ships because half of them are dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 22:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12591672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightFragments/pseuds/MidnightFragments
Summary: Once a year on the night of Halloween, the border between the ghost world and the materialistic world becomes so thin it allows ghosts to cross and walk among the living.





	Ghost Stories

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Prince of Tennis 2017 Halloween zine, which can be found [here.](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3wJcvmeHvnDNi1uOVQ4MFhMODQ/view)

-i-

If Yukimura's heart was still beating, it'd be pounding in his chest right now. As it was in his unworldly form, he only felt what could be described as a ghost of an ache.

He sneered at the choice of words.

From his position on the roof of the dorms building, he could see the entire campus. The night was cold if the coats worn by everyone outside were any indication, but he couldn't feel the chill himself. The strong wind felt a mere breeze to him. Down on the ground, students milled around in costumes on their ways to various parties that were probably held nearby. Yukimura counted four ghosts so far, or what living humans thought ghosts looked like.

In reality, ghosts were not covered in white sheets. No. Ghosts wore the clothes they died in. Yukimura's attire was still his hospital robe. He hated it, first in his life and now in his death as well.

"You know, sitting here and staring at the ground won't get you far," a voice suddenly said to his left.

Yukimura turned his head in the direction of the speaker. Hovering a few inches above the roof wearing a brown kimono and an entertained expression was Shiraishi, an older ghost who'd been assigned to watch over Yukimura during the first year after his death. Shiraishi was no longer forced to stay by his side, but he'd taken a liking to the younger ghost and was never too far away from him. Like he himself was doing up until a moment ago, Shiraishi was watching the hordes of students walking around.

"Funny thing, Halloween." His voice was filled with amusement, something that always happened when he talked about traditions and events he didn't fully understand about the living world. Back when he was alive, Shiraishi was one of the smartest people in Japan, serving the emperor as an advisor; but as times progressed, he found the living stranger and stranger. It didn't stop him from coming back every year to try and learn more. "Which one is your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend anymore," Yukimura replied in a tone he hoped didn't sound as broken as he felt. "And he's probably inside the dorms."

"Well, go ahead and find him." Shiraishi pushed his shoulder with a force that would have knocked him off the building was he still alive, but Yukimura just kept floating in the air and sent him a venomous look. Shiraishi shrugged. "You only have until sunrise. Don't waste your time."

"He'll come out."

As soon as the words left his mouth Yukimura spotted Sanada. He would laugh at his looks if it didn't hurt so much to see him again after all this time.

Whenever Yukimura thought about Sanada and how he was coping with Yukimura's death, he imagined Sanada mourning over his grave or screaming with frustration, maybe lying in his bed staring blankly at the ceiling for hours. Yukimura was all about the drama, and he imagined his sudden death having such impact on his boyfriend that he couldn't go on with his life. Something that has bee taken out of a film, maybe.

Sanada did not look broken. Or sad, for that matter. He was wearing a black vest over a buttoned white shirt, and what seemed to be boots with heels, but they were mostly hidden beneath his loose jeans so Yukimura couldn't be sure. A toy gun was attached to his belt, and a brown hat was perched on his head.

A cowboy; he dressed as a cowboy. So cute.

Yukimura wanted to reach out and hug him so badly he lost his flying ability for a few pathetic seconds.

"I'd take it that's the one," Shiraishi said, his voice as amused as ever.

Yukimura straightened his back in an attempt to regain some of his lost dignity and nodded. "That's Genichirou."

Sanada didn't look in his direction, didn't even know he was there. Yukimura had been dead for over a year now, and today was the first opportunity he had to come back. Ghosts were not supposed to travel back into the materialistic world on their first Halloween, something about needing time to make amends with their deaths and having enough time to consider the risks of crossing the border.

Something inside him twisted. He always thought he and Sanada shared such a strong bond that Sanada would just feel Yukimura's ghostly presence and turn around to face him, but Sanada didn't even falter in his steps as he made his way from the boys dormitory to the girls'. Yukimura was an idiot for expecting something else.

A beautiful girl was waiting for him outside the building. Long strands of dark blue hair showed from beneath the pointed witch hat she was wearing, and Yukimura caught her warm smile when she took sight of Sanada before she rose on the tips of her toes to kiss him. Even then Sanada needed to lower his head to meet her halfway; the top of her head barely reached his chin.

"Who's the girl?" Shiraishi asked, not sounding amused anymore, but not quite concerned either.

"I don't know."

For a while Sanada and the girl just stood in place and talked, their body language and closeness hinting at their intimate relationship, until Sanada offered her his hand and they started walking.

As if his brain commanded his muscles to move without him realizing it, Yukimura followed them, flying above their heads close enough to hear their quiet conversation. Shiraishi didn't follow.

They were talking about such normal things; classes and homework, part-time jobs, rent and friends. In the weeks prior to the surgery that killed Yukimura Sanada and he didn't talk about anything but his medical condition. It was only when Yukimura's ghost form came into existence that he regretted not spending his last days talking about things he loved.

Yukimura was getting more jealous of the girl with every minute that passed.

The party the two were heading was held only one block away from the university campus. Yukimura was already prepared to follow them inside when Sanada stopped dead in his tracks.

"I don't think I can do this," he told the girl who was under no doubt his girlfriend.

Her smile wavered and her expression softened. "We've talked about this, Sanada-kun."

Yukimura's jealousy eased a little bit as he heard her address Sanada by his last name. Not close enough to be on first name basis yet, then.

Sanada shook his head. "I can't. I don't want- I don't know how to--" he couldn't complete his sentence, his voice lost in his throat.

"You don't want to have fun without him," the girl completed his sentence for him, and Yukimura almost felt the ghost of his heart leaping in his chest. She took Sanada's hand. "We've talked about this, remember? He told you to go on. He said he wanted you to go out and have fun."

Yukimura blinked. He did say those things, right before he went into surgery. _'If I don't make it through, don't hold yourself back. Don't forget to live your life without me. Have fun for the both of us.'_

Sanada shushed him back then. _'You're going to make it through. And I'll wait for you right here when you wake up.'_

If he could still cry, he would. His throat felt tight, as if his body remembered what if felt like to hold back tears when he was alive, but his eyes remained dry.

Almost a year ago, Yukimura had a sudden thought. He asked Shiraishi, "If there are so many of us, and we can all go back once a year and reveal ourselves to everyone, why does no one hear about it?"

Shiraishi shrugged with a bored expression on his face, like he'd been asked that same question many times before. "First of all, you do hear stories of ghosts, but most people don't believe them. Besides, if you coming back would make life harder for your loved ones, would you show yourself?"

Back then, Yukimura had no doubt about his answer. Of course he'd reveal himself to Sanada. Today he understood the meaning behind Shiraishi's words.

He stayed in his place and watched Sanada as he took a few deep breaths and finally made his way into the building. He didn't follow him inside.

Shiraishi smiled sadly when he came back to where he left him. "You understand now, don't you?"

Yukimura did. With a sigh, he requested Shiraishi to take him back home.

 

-ii-

Niou honestly didn't know why Yagyuu kept putting up with his nonsense even in his death, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

It's been seven years since he died, and four since he had the courage to come back. Crossing the border was no joke; if he did it wrong or didn't make sure to return by the time Halloween was over he could die. Well, he was already dead, but one wrong step and his ghost form would cease to exist. Yagyuu was a great friend, but Niou just couldn't take the risk at the beginning.

He needed the help of another ghost to finally make the decision to go back. Marui Bunta was still young in ghost terms, but he was a lot older than Niou, and he kept going back year after year. He took Niou with him four years ago, and Niou stood with him outside a nice house on the outskirts of the city and watched Marui's old friend with him from afar.

"Why aren't you showing yourself to him?"

Marui shrugged. "There is a certain age during which you could become a ghost at death, did you know that?" When Niou shook his head, he added, "Yes, you need to be somewhere between fifteen and thirty to become one, and you need to die of a certain accident. No one becomes a ghost after dying of old age."

It didn't answer Niou's question, but he chose to wait instead of pushing for the older ghost to elaborate. Marui did elaborate, eventually. "Jackal is already eighty-two years old," he said. "When he dies, in a year, five, ten… he won't become like us. He'll just be gone. And I will have to accept that."

"Did you love him?" the question suddenly left Niou's mouth.

"I didn't want to be his boyfriend, if that's what you mean. He was my comrade; my best friend."

Best friend, he thought. Niou and Yagyuu were only eighteen when Niou died in a plane crash, but even then he knew he didn't want to even imagine a world where Yagyuu wasn't by his side.

And there he was, standing outside a stranger's house while he could be with Yagyuu; wasting his time worrying about risks and borders instead of finding his best friend. He'd skipped two opportunities already, and he was going to waste the third if he didn't move his lazy ass away from this place and went to search for Yagyuu.

He did find him that evening, standing in line for a haunted house with a few friends. Niou recognized them all; his old teammates from the tennis club. He was happy to see they were still finding the time to hang out together even after they all graduated.

Kirihara was breathing onto his hands in an attempt to warm up, and Yukimura had his own hand in Sanada's. Niou would find it adorable that they finally got over their shit and admitted they were in love, but then his attention snapped to Yagyuu. He was staring straight forward, his expression as blank as it always used to be and his body relaxed in the cold air. His eyes were what caught Niou by surprise. Empty. They seemed empty.

Niou didn't show himself immediately. He waited, watching the group as they slowly made their progress in line and finally walked into the house. Yanagi seemed almost bored as he led the way through the first two rooms.

The urge to show himself was growing harder to resist when Niou saw how much of a mess Kirihara was. He watched fondly as his old teammate tried to put on a brave façade but became paler and paler with every scary object that popped up.

When Kirihara seemed to relax a little bit, Niou couldn't stop himself. He flew closer to his former friend and, still invisible to humans, whispered in his ear, "Boo!"

Kirihara startled with a cry and looked around him frantically. "Who did this? I'm going to kill you!"

Yukimura sent a puzzled look in his direction. "Who did what?"

Kirihara narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. After deeming everyone innocent, he relaxed. "Nothing."

It wasn't long before another opportunity to do the same presented itself to him. He doubled up with laughter at Kirihara's reaction.

"Are you coming?" Yanagi asked, and Niou looked around to see Yagyuu remained in his place when everyone else moved on.

Yagyuu shook his head at Yanagi. "You go ahead, I'll join you soon enough."

When Yanagi was gone and the room was empty, Yagyuu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "This is crazy," he muttered under his breath, so quietly Niou heard it only because he was hovering so close in a silent room. "This is crazy," Yagyuu said again, and then, with his eyes still closed, he asked, "Niou-kun?"

Niou was taken aback. He wanted to show himself to Yagyuu, it was the point of finally going through the pain of crossing the border after all this time. But he was not ready. He was dead, and Yagyuu was alive, and Niou was not ready to have his best friend back just to lose him again at the end of the night.

The silence broke when Yagyuu sighed. "Crazy."

He started moving towards the door, and Niou was still frozen in his spot. Panic started blooming in his chest seeing Yagyuu walking away from him.

If he didn't do this now, he wouldn't ever do it.

"Yagyuu," he said. As the word left his mouth, he focused his mind on revealing himself. Marui taught him how to do it a year ago, but only in theory. It was a weird sensation, his entire body tingling as he worked on materializing himself.

Yagyuu turned around just in time to see him appearing in front of him. His lips parted in surprise. "Niou-kun." It wasn't exactly a question.

Niou tried to put on his best smile, but he couldn't quite keep his nerves out of it. "The one and only."

Yagyuu had always been the most rational person Niou knew, even more so than Yanagi, so he wasn't exactly sure what to expect of him now. For all that he knew, Yagyuu might turn around and walk away, deeming the past few minutes as a hallucination.

But then Yagyuu smiled. "I thought I heard your voice. How have you been?"

"Dead," Niou answered, his smile becoming more genuine.

Yagyuu's smile widened.

Thinking back of how things happened that year, Niou always thought Yagyuu was too quick to accept his supernatural existence. Yagyuu would only shrug if Niou mentioned his thoughts, though, and say something about always knowing Niou would come back for him.

He came back every year since.

It was his idea to start a haunted house with Yagyuu. It'd be funny; they could make use of his abilities to scare people into crying. Yagyuu would rent a place for the weeks preceding Halloween and take care of decorating the rooms, the lighting and the sound system, and coming Halloween Niou would follow innocent teenagers and come at them when they were not prepared.

He and Yagyuu would always have a great laugh over the ones who cried the most.

This year was not supposed to be different. Niou crossed the border as soon as it started thinning out and made his way to Yagyuu's house, where he left a note on the door with the location of the haunted house this time. It was not far, and Niou was there within ten minutes.

Like the years before, Yagyuu took care of everything. When Niou reached the place there was still half an hour until the opening, but people already lined outside. Their house had a big reputation.

Niou flew over the queueing people and right through the - still closed - front door. Yagyuu was in the control room, finishing up on some last minute details. Niou could not resist sneaking up on him and yelling in his ear.

It didn't work on Yagyuu, though, who was already expecting him and only turned around with a warm smile.

"Welcome back, Niou-kun."

Niou faked frustration. "I thought I had it this time."

"I'll always know where you are."

Yagyuu's eyes expressed something Niou couldn't quite comprehend, as if his words had some deeper meaning behind them. He brushed the thought off.

"We have a pretty long queue outside," he said.

Yagyuu nodded. "People have been talking. They say we have real ghosts haunting the place."

Niou smirked. "Now, who would believe something as unrealistic as that?"

"One would have to be crazy to believe ghosts exist," Yagyuu replied, grinning as well.

Niou really missed him.

The night went well. Niou managed to startle every single group that walked inside, and he even made three young, teenage kids cry. When the last group left Niou sat over the table in the control room and watched as Yagyuu counted the money he earned.

"Not bad," he said when he finished. "You earn me quite some money."

Niou smiled. "Always happy to help." He glanced at Yagyuu's wristwatch, noticing the time. "I should get going."

Yagyuu's eyes found his. Niou could not read his expression, and it annoyed him.

He got up and looked around. "I had fun today," he said.

"Yeah," Yagyuu agreed. Niou couldn't not notice how his face and voice turned emptier the closer his departure was.

"I'll see you next year."

"See you."

He was about the exit the room through the wall when Yagyuu spoke again. "Why did you come back?"

Niou stopped in his tracks and turned around to face him. "What do you mean?"

"Four years ago. Why did you come back to me?"

Niou hated that he still couldn't grasp the emotion Yagyuu was hiding behind his eyes. "You're my friend. I missed you."

"Just your friend?"

Niou smiled. "Of course not. You're my best friend."

Yagyuu nodded.

Niou waited for him to say something, but Yagyuu remained silent. When a couple minutes passed and he said nothing, Niou rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and said, "I'll get going."

"I loved you, you know," Yagyuu called suddenly, when he was halfway through the wall already. "I was going to ask you out the day you died. I was on my way to the airport to welcome you back when your sister called to say the plane crashed."

Niou didn't know that. He thought he needed to know, but at the end of the day, he was honestly blind to Yagyuu's feelings while he was still alive. And in his death as well.

He didn't reply. Didn't even turn around to face Yagyuu again.

Eventually, Yagyuu spoke again. "You should go. Your time will be up soon."

Niou nodded. "Goodbye, Yagyuu."

"You'll come back, right? Next year?"

Of course. He'll always come back for Yagyuu. "Yes," he promised.

And then he left.

 

-iii-

Marui stood at the spot he started considering as "his" the past few decades, just outside Jackal's house. From here, he could look through the window and into the living room, where Jackal always used to sit with his wife.

She wasn't there tonight, though, and as the night progressed Marui's frown deepened. Jackal wasn't looking as if he was expecting her to show up, either. He was focused on the TV, a remote in his hand, and had been in the exact same positions for the last couple of hours.

Finally, out of curiosity, Marui flew over and entered the house. He was never inside before, and had only seen the living room from outside the window. He always thought it'd be rude to enter without being granted permission.

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Jackal had a cup of tea on the table next to the couch he sat on. The second couch, the one that belonged to his wife, was vacant. The newspaper was next to Jackal's cup, the remote control for the AC as well. There was nothing but a vase filled with fake flowers by the second couch.

He wandered out of the living room and into the kitchen. There was a plate in the sink, left there after dinner probably, and one set of cutlery. When he exited the kitchen and went to check the bedroom, he saw one side of the double bed was messed. And in the bathroom, there was only one toothbrush.

Jackal's wife was no longer there; probably died sometime the past year. Jackal was alone.

When Marui died, he didn't even consider coming back. Accepting his death was pretty easy. Many people died during WWII, and many of them died as a result of an accident of sorts and became ghosts. He didn't find a reason to come back at first. His entire family died in the war, and no one was left to go back to.

At the end, he came back because he had to make sure Jackal was alright, that he somehow managed to overcome the hardships of the war and found peace.

When he first came back, Jackal was just starting his life as a civilian. He was still traumatized by the war if his reactions to loud noises and unexpected encounters were any indication.

Marui tried showing himself to him, that year, but Jackal only gaped at him before passing out. He didn't show himself since.

Heading back to the living room, he considered his options. He didn't want Jackal to be alone, not if he could keep him company, but at his advanced age, he might have a heart attack if Marui just showed himself to him.

He sat on the floor - not feeling right sitting on Jackal's deceased wife's couch - and watched his friend.

He was almost falling asleep in front of the TV. It was already late.

Slowly, Marui focused on revealing himself. The familiar tingling spread through his body as he came into focus. Jackal didn't seem to notice.

Marui got up and walked closer to him. "Jackal?" he asked.

Jackal slowly turned his head. For a moment he stared, and then he smiled. "I knew you'd come back again."

Marui tilted his head questioningly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't say hello last time. I was waiting for you to return. Have a seat." He gestured to the empty couch.

Marui smiled and sat down. "How have you been?" he asked.

Jackal closed his eyes and smiled as well. "Good, I guess. Good."

Marui nodded. Good.

 

-iv-

Crossing the border was the most painful thing Kirihara felt in his life. Or his death. Those two ghouls they assigned to watch over him warned him it would not be easy, but he didn't care. He was finally going to see his family again.

As soon as the pain started to ease, he started jogging in the direction of his old house. Or flying; he needed to remind himself he was flying everywhere these days. At least it was faster and required less energy.

"Kirihara-kun, wait up!"

Kirihara sped up.

He thought he was smart, following an oblivious older ghost crossing the border the moment Halloween officially started, but apparently his two guardians expected it. Two, because some divine being didn't think just one would be enough for him. What a joke.

He died three weeks ago after being hit by a car on his way back home from work. The idiot behind the wheel was drunk, one of his guardians told him. His eyes were full of pity when he informed him of the cause of his death.

Death. Kirihara was dead. He refused to accept this.

There was still so much he needed to do in life, so many dreams he needed to chase. He hadn't even had the chance to fall in love yet. Yagyuu and Niou would give him hell if they knew it was one of the things he regretted the most.

Kirihara slowed down at the thought of Niou. His senpai died years ago, and Yukimura's death was still mostly fresh to him. And now it was his turn. If was not fair.

His slower pace allowed his two chasers to catch up to him. He had the feeling they weren't actually trying all that much, really. What could they do after he'd already crossed the border, anyway?

They warned him about it. At first, they didn't even tell him coming back on Halloween was an option, but ghosts of all ages got hyped over the idea during the days leading to October 31, and word reached his ears. There was no stopping him after that.

 _'You're too young,'_ they said. _'You're not ready, you might not be able to come back.'_

Kirihara didn't care. His family must be still mourning his death and he needed to see them, to tell them to not worry because he was fine. His sister was supposed to get married in December. He needed to let her know he didn't want her to postpone the wedding.

"Kirihara-kun, you need to stop for a moment," one of the other ghosts - the shorter one with the blue hair and the headband - said.

"Go away," he spat at his direction.

"Gladly," the other one replied. Kirihara didn't remember his name - Horie or Horio or something like that. "Only we're tied to you, so we can't go back unless you come with us."

Kirihara shrugged. "Suit yourselves." He had a place to go.

The streets were full of groups of kids passing through houses collecting candies. Kirihara had the urge to reveal himself and scare them, but he had more important things to do. His family was his top priority.

The crossing point he used was fairly close to his old home, and in no time he was standing outside. Unfortunately, his two companions were still by his side.

"Is that your mother?" the taller one asked when a woman appeared in the window.

Kirihara snorted. "Does she look old enough to be my mother?" he asked. "That's my sister."

Now that he was so close, he didn't know what to do. In his hurry to cross the border he didn't consider his actions once he reached this place. Was he supposed to just burst through the door and reveal himself to them?

How would they react, seeing him again? His death was so recent, they barely had the time to deal with it yet. What if being there would make it harder for them?

His two guardians didn't let him wonder about things quietly. They just _had_ to disturb his thoughts.

"So what are you planning to do?" one of them asked.

"Shut up," he snapped.

"Not to ruin your mood, but you've been standing here for quite some time. You know we have a limited time in this place, right?" the other one said.

"I know. Shut up."

"Are you even going to go inside, or did you drag us here for nothing?"

Ah, the question of questions. Was he going to go inside?

It was the sight of his father that finally drew him into the house. His dad was always such an impressive and a strong man, but the way he looked as he passed by the window made Kirihara's heart twist. Or it would have, if he could still feel his heart. His father seemed broken, tired, like he aged ten years in less than a month.

Wordlessly, Kirihara entered the house, passing straight through the front door. Needless to say, the other two came along. His father was still in the living room when he entered.

For a few long moments, Kirihara just stared.

"Do you even know how to reveal yourself?" The question came from the taller one, with the annoying voice.

He didn't know how to do it, in fact. He felt like an idiot for not realizing it until now. He turned to look at them. "Tell me how to do it."

"It's not something you just do," the blue-haired one - Dan - said. "You need practice. Lots of it. You can't just learn it in a heartbeat."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Seriously, crossing the border hurt like a bitch.

Dan shrugged. "Obviously we thought we had another year to teach you, since you weren't supposed to be here tonight."

"I have to talk to them. I have to tell them… things."

They both looked at him with pitying eyes. "Kirihara-kun," Dan said. "We all had things to say and unfinished businesses when we died. Ghosts died in accidents, our deaths were not expected."

"Yeah, well --"

"You're not supposed to come back in your first year," Horio or Horie interrupted him. "The rules are there for a reason. You need time to accept your death. Your loved ones need time."

Dan nodded. "We will not teach you how to reveal yourself. Not today."

Kirihara turned to look at his father, who was sitting on the couch and staring at nothing. It was almost 2am and he was still awake, doing nothing. He probably couldn't fall asleep.

"I just want to talk to them," he whispered. He hated the desperation in his voice.

Dan laid a hand on his shoulder. "I know. And when we get back home, we will teach you how to reveal yourself, so that next year, if you still want to do it, you will know how."

Kirihara nodded. He moved closer to his father and laid his hand on his. His father didn't even flinch.

"Goodbye," he said.


End file.
